Video Bible Lesson - If We Lived with God as Our Portion By Cindi McMenamin

1/2 Hour of God’s Power with Scott Ralls

6/30/2020

If We Lived with God as Our PortionBy Cindi McMenamin

“Lord, you alone are my portion and my cup; you make my lot secure. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance.” (Psalm 16:5-6 NASB)What do you consider your reward in life? A fulfilling career, satisfying relationships, or being able to find joy in the simple things in life? What about success, notoriety, or financial security?The problem with those “rewards” is that we can often feel we are missing the mark when our expectations aren’t met. But when you and I adopt a mindset like some of the great men of faith in the Scriptures, we can funnel every circumstance in life, every disappointment, and even every miserable failure, through the grid of God being our portion and reward.Consider Abraham, who waited years for God to deliver upon a promise to give him a son. Remember David the shepherd boy, psalmist, and giant killer who became Israel’s greatest king, but was also a fugitive for many years of his life. And consider Paul, who was shipwrecked, imprisoned, and beaten and left for dead several times. They all considered God as their portion – or reward in life – regardless of their circumstances.What if you and I were to adopt the motto: “The Lord is my portion?” Our lives would look very different.We would be content with our lives.When the Lord is your portion, you are content and you know what it means to have enough. Instead of praying for more money, a bigger house, a better job, and a happier or more fulfilling life, you realize you have been abundantly blessed.The writer of Proverbs 30:7-9understood God as His portion, when he said: “Two things I asked of You, Do not refuse me before I die: Keep deception and lies far from me, Give me neither poverty nor riches; Feed me with the food that is my portion, That I not be full and deny You and say, ‘Who is the Lord?’ Or that I not be in want and steal, And profane the name of my God.” (NASB).Are you content with what God has given you, realizing He sees what is best for you and knows what you can handle and what you can’t? If you see God as your portion, you will be.We could surrender the need to succeed.In Genesis 15:1, God told Abraham, “I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward.”The Apostle Paul understood this “exceedingly great reward” in Christ when he said, “I consider everything (education, achievement, a spotless reputation, self-achieved righteousness) a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him…” (Philippians 3:8-9).When we understand the worth of knowing Christ, we can surrender the need to succeed in our eyes and in the eyes of others. When He is our portion we find our reward and our worth in Him, not in anything the world offers. And we can say as David did in Psalm 16:1: “You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing.”When you and I live like God is our inheritance, our share, and our reward, we also understand that nothing else compares to Him. We’ve won the prize.

#Jesus, #Christian, #Bible, #Salvation, #Heaven, #God, #HolySpirit

Video Bible Lesson - A Prayer to Wait on God without Losing Faith By Lori Freeland - Day Two

1/2 Hour of God’s Power with Scott Ralls

6/29/2020

A Prayer to Wait on God without Losing Faith

By Lori Freeland

“Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.” (Psalm 37:4).Have you ever prayed and prayed and prayed for God to move, to change a situation, to please help… and nothing happens? I have.Sometimes it’s hard to understand God’s perspective. He sees our lives differently than we do. In general, we’re a fast-food, soft-on-suffering, high-on-anxiety society. We want what we want now and we want to avoid discomfort. We take on worries we don’t need.Our relationship with Him is intensely personal. He’s our Father, and parenting is intensely personal. For those of you who have a child, this makes complete sense. We see beyond what our kids think they need in the moment. We have a bigger view of their lives. We think ahead and plan accordingly. So does God. Often when our faith is shaken, it’s because we’re looking at a 12-inch section of a 180-inch screen.He knows what we need. Knows how He wants to grow our character. And like any parent of multiple children, what He allows for you might not be the same as what He allows for me. What He gives us won’t look the same. Neither will the timing of our answers when we pray. Or the way our faith is stretched and blessed.So how do we deal? Here’s what helps me.When I’m frustrated that I’m not hearing from God, I ask myself if my petition is a want or a need.When I’m in panic mode, I step back and focus on whether what’s happening is really a crisis or just a major inconvenience.When my petitions don’t get results, I ask God if I’m rushing after what He doesn’t want me to have or if I’m longing for what He wants to give.When I’m drained and exhausted and tired of waiting, I remember the timing isn’t a choice. Whether I try to hurry God’s process along or not, the speed of His answer remains the same.When the answer comes and it’s not what I want, I question if I’ve closed my eyes to what God’s really trying to do and ask Him to open my heart.Please pray with me:Lord, You are mighty and worthy and full of perfect love. Everything I’m not. When You said in your word to, “Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart” (Psalm 37:4 NIV), that passage doesn’t mean You’d give me everything I asked for when I asked for it. It means that if I take delight in You, You’ll fill my heart with the desires You want me to have. Next time I come to you in prayer, build my faith. Open my eyes to the way You see things whether my prayer is answered the way I want or not. Change the way I think. Make me more like You. And thank you for taking care of me in the very best way, even if sometimes I don’t understand your decisions. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

#Jesus, #Christian, #Bible, #Salvation, #Heaven, #God, #HolySpirit

Video Bible Lesson - A Prayer to Wait on God Without Losing Faith by Lori Freeland

1/2 Hour of God’s Power with Scott Ralls

6/28/2020

A Prayer to Wait on God without Losing Faith

By Lori Freeland

“Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.” (Psalm 37:4).
Have you ever prayed and prayed and prayed for God to move, to change a situation, to please help… and nothing happens? I have.
Sometimes it’s hard to understand God’s perspective. He sees our lives differently than we do. In general, we’re a fast-food, soft-on-suffering, high-on-anxiety society. We want what we want now and we want to avoid discomfort. We take on worries we don’t need.
Our relationship with Him is intensely personal. He’s our Father, and parenting is intensely personal. For those of you who have a child, this makes complete sense. We see beyond what our kids think they need in the moment. We have a bigger view of their lives. We think ahead and plan accordingly. So does God. Often when our faith is shaken, it’s because we’re looking at a 12-inch section of a 180-inch screen.
He knows what we need. Knows how He wants to grow our character. And like any parent of multiple children, what He allows for you might not be the same as what He allows for me. What He gives us won’t look the same. Neither will the timing of our answers when we pray. Or the way our faith is stretched and blessed.
So how do we deal? Here’s what helps me.
When I’m frustrated that I’m not hearing from God, I ask myself if my petition is a want or a need.
When I’m in panic mode, I step back and focus on whether what’s happening is really a crisis or just a major inconvenience.
When my petitions don’t get results, I ask God if I’m rushing after what He doesn’t want me to have or if I’m longing for what He wants to give.
When I’m drained and exhausted and tired of waiting, I remember the timing isn’t a choice. Whether I try to hurry God’s process along or not, the speed of His answer remains the same.
When the answer comes and it’s not what I want, I question if I’ve closed my eyes to what God’s really trying to do and ask Him to open my heart.
Please pray with me:
Lord, You are mighty and worthy and full of perfect love. Everything I’m not. When You said in your word to, “Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart” (Psalm 37:4 NIV), that passage doesn’t mean You’d give me everything I asked for when I asked for it. It means that if I take delight in You, You’ll fill my heart with the desires You want me to have. Next time I come to you in prayer, build my faith. Open my eyes to the way You see things whether my prayer is answered the way I want or not. Change the way I think. Make me more like You. And thank you for taking care of me in the very best way, even if sometimes I don’t understand your decisions. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

#Jesus, #Christian, #Bible, #Salvation, #Heaven, #God, #HolySpirit

Streams in the Desert

Streams in the Desert

A door opened in heaven (Rev. 4:1).

You must remember that John was in the Isle of Patmos, a lone, rocky, inhospitable prison, for the Word of God and the testimony of Jesus. And yet to him, under such circumstances, separated from all the loved ones of Ephesus; debarred from the worship of the Church; condemned to the companionship of uncongenial fellow-captives, were vouchsafed these visions. For him, also a door was opened.

We are reminded of Jacob, exiled from his father's house, who laid himself down in a desert place to sleep, and in his dreams beheld a ladder which united Heaven with earth, and at the top stood God.

Not to these only, but to many more, doors have been opened into Heaven, when, so far as the world was concerned, it seemed as though their circumstances were altogether unlikely for such revelations. To prisoners and captives; to constant sufferers, bound by iron chains of pain to sick couches; to lonely pilgrims and wanderers; to women detained from the Lord's house by the demands of home, how often has the door been opened to Heaven.

But there are conditions. You must know what it is to be in the Spirit; you must be pure in heart and obedient in faith; you must be willing to count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Jesus Christ; then when God is all in all to us, when we live, move and have our being in His favor, to us also will the door be opened.
--Daily Devotional Commentary

God hath His mountains bleak and bare,
Where He doth bid us rest awhile;
Crags where we breathe a purer air,
Lone peaks that catch the day's first smile.
God hath His deserts broad and brown--
A solitude--a sea of sand,
Where He doth let heaven's curtain down,
Unknit by His Almighty hand.

No Turning Back, No Turning Back

No Turning Back, No Turning Back
By Mike Pohlman

No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God. -- Luke 9:62

I love the old spiritual, “I Have Decided to Follow Jesus.” I hear in it the echo of Luke 9:62. Listen, for example, to the third stanza: “The world behind me, the cross before me. No turning back, no turning back.”

In this simple song we see a profound biblical truth: the Christian life is a constant movement forward to our heavenly home. We are not called to retreat in the face of the many spiritual battles that will crusade against us. We are called to advance in godliness—come what may.

I’ve been indulging lately in a wonderful biography of Ulysses S. Grant by Jean Edward Smith. One theme that persists in Grant’s career as a general was his constant movement forward. Grant, in other words, was always on the offensive. His battle strategy was not to “dig in” and fight a defensive war. He was on the march, pressing the Confederacy into submission. Grant’s persistence—his stubborn determination to move forward and not look back—was summed up succinctly by Abraham Lincoln when he said in response to calls for Grant’s removal in early 1862: “I cannot spare this man; he fights.”

As the sun was setting on the Apostle Paul’s ministry he wrote in 2 Timothy 4:7: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” Unlike Grant, Paul’s fight was not against flesh and blood, “but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12). But like Grant, Paul left no room for retreat. His life was marked by a steady, determined, rugged movement forward. Consider this astounding example from Acts 14:

But Jews came from Antioch and Iconium, and having persuaded the crowds, they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing that he was dead. But when the disciples gathered about him, he rose up and entered the city, and on the next day he went on with Barnabas to Derbe. When they had preached the gospel to that city and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch, strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God. And when they had appointed elders for them in every church, with prayer and fasting they committed them to the Lord in whom they had believed (19-23).

Paul was “struck down, but not destroyed” (2 Corinthians 4:9). After being stoned and left for dead, he got up and moved forward. “But one thing I do,” Paul said, “forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:13-14).

I’m reminded of one of the most moving passages in Smith’s biography of Grant describing an episode after the first day of fighting at Shiloh leaving Grant’s army on the brink of defeat:

Later, sometime after midnight, raining harder now, Sherman went looking for Grant. He had worked five hours to prepare his division to attack, but it seemed hopeless. His men had been thoroughly beaten and Sherman—who would have been the last to say so—thought it important “to put the river between us and the enemy.” This is why he sought Grant, to see when and how the retreat could be arranged. The rain was coming down in buckets, punctuated by heavy thunder and lightning in the background. In this surreal setting Sherman found Grant standing alone under a large oak tree, dripping wet, hat slouched down over his face, coat collar up around his ears, a dimly glowing lantern in his hand, cigar clenched between his teeth. Sherman looked at him for a moment from a distance. Then, “moved” as he put it later, “by some wise and sudden instinct not to mention retreat,” Sherman approached and said, “Well, Grant, we’ve had the devil’s own day, haven’t we?”

“Yes,” answered Grant, puffing hard on his cigar. “Yes. Lick’em tomorrow though.”

Which of us has not experienced a crushing defeat in the Christian life? Against the constant bombardment of the world, the flesh, and the devil we battle everyday to believe the promises of God held out for us in the Gospel. And, if we’re honest, some days we don’t feel like we’re winning at all. In fact, some days defeat feels certain.

But arrayed in the full armor of God (Ephesians 6:10-20) we get up by grace ready to “lick’em tomorrow.” We remind ourselves that God in Christ “always leads us in triumphal procession” (2 Corinthians 2:14) “so that [we] may not grow weary or fainthearted” (Hebrews 12:3).

Intersecting Faith & Life: What promises of God can you cling to right now as you face particular challenges in your life?

The Swiftness of God’s Provision

The Swiftness of God’s Provision
By Meg Bucher

“Can I have more fish?” my daughters both looked at me with plates extended….

Second, third and fourth helpings of dinner that night had me thinking somebody had swapped my children.

“Are you even taking the time to chew this?” I asked, as barrels of laughter answered me back.

Today’s verse is a reminder of how God has provided for us in our lives. In the good times, and in the problems solved and health restored, we are quick to inhale and ask for more. But in the not so good times …in the hard places of life that are not so easy to chew and almost impossible to swallow, we rarely even finish the first helping.

In order to digest the nutrition God gives us properly, we must consider the following.

• “You will have plenty to eat…”If we’re still standing on this earth, God is assuredly providing a way for us to be here another day. And if He’s provided another day, He’ll get us through it.
• …”and you will praise the name of the Lord your God.”Good entrees in life call for a side or two of praise.
• …”who has worked wonders for you…”By recognizing the miracles God has woven into our everyday lives, we acknowledge the fact that He’ll do it again! The Israelites had to be reminded constantly of the way God brought them out of Egypt and provided for them. If they were privy to forget the massive miracles that God had bestowed upon them …then we are surly prone to forget what He’s done in our lives. We must choose to remember.
• “…never again will my people be shamed.”When Christ died on the cross, the guilt and shame and wrath we deserve for our sin was wiped out. In one last breath, He sealed those that believe in Him for good. Though our lives remain imperfect, grace forgives us over and over as we grow in holiness all the way to heaven.

When we get a good Word from God, let’s vow to write it on our hearts …to turn back and look at the way those Words have already marked our lives, and take them forward with us as the sharp sword they are …to cut through the calamity and follow Christ.

Father, Praise You for remembrance. Thank You that we can search our memories and see the tracks and traces of Your love marked on our lives. Forgive us for falling short and turning back …for delaying and doubting, and strengthen our hearts to believe in You more and more each and every day. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

A Prayer in the Presence of a Loving Father

A Prayer in the Presence of a Loving Father
By Michele Cushatt

“The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit,” the Bible says.” (Psalm 34:18).

Friend to Friend

The second the bus stopped at the corner, my little girl climbed off and ran as fast as she could toward where I stood.
 Something wasn’t right. She was crying.
Immediately my mind jumped to worst-case scenarios.

Not quite so dramatic, someone told her they didn’t like her anymore. In typical grade-school fashion, the mood of the relationship had turned sour on the playground. As a result, my girl fell out of the other girl’s affection.

There on the street corner, I held her close while she cried. I was glad she told me. But what made me most proud is what she said next: “When we get home, can we cuddle?”

For years I’ve been working with my girl to learn how to ask for what she needs. It’s hard for her, tough girl that she is. Typically she either guts it out or reverts to theatrics. Instead, we’ve discussed how to use words to communicate needs.

That day, on the street corner, she did just that.

If only I could learn to do the same.

Most days I’m glad to be an adult. I mean, really. Who wants to travel back to the days of diapers or pimples?

When I’m hurt or discouraged or afraid, however, my adult skin wears thin.

When bills demand paying and parenting proves impossible. When marriage is hard, friendships struggle, and doctor’s appointments fill a calendar.

Then I wish to travel back in time, when a girl’s greatest fears could be soothed in a mama’s arms. Held close, all was well. To a child, there’s nothing greater than a parent’s ability to comfort.

But comfort doesn’t come so easily to us grownups.

Where do you and I go when relationships wound and the injustice of life stings?

We adults carry such responsibility, don’t we? Such blunt knowledge of the unfairness and volatility of this life. Even if we avoid news and media, fear and pain still have a way of finding us. We can’t escape them.

Ourselves, more often than not. We either erect a false front of strength or cave in to a pattern of complaining. But neither brings much relief.

There’s a better way.

The Bible is rich with examples of men who voiced their needs and asked God for His comfort.

Even better, the Bible nearly explodes with examples of God’s corresponding tireless affection.

At times He comforted those He loved through their circumstances, and other times He comforted them in their circumstances:

To the leader Joshua, overwhelmed by his new task: “Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged” (Josh. 1:9). 


To the Israelites enslaved by ruthless Egyptians: “I am concerned about their suffering” (Ex. 3:7). 


To the widow who’d lost her only son: “Don’t cry” (Luke 7:13). 


To the adulteress caught in her shameful sin: “Neither do I 
condemn you” (John 8:11).

To the blind man longing to see: “Receive your sight; your faith has healed you” (Luke 18:42). 


To the disciples, who ached because their friend would be leaving them, Jesus said: “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matt. 28:20). 


And to those of us who wade through the deep waters of this modern life, longing for a world we’ve heard about but have not yet seen, Jesus promises: “I am going there to prepare a place for you” (John 14:2).

Regardless of your pain—whether physical, emotional, or spiritual— you don’t have to pretend to be strong, nor do you need to succumb to your tears. Become a child in the presence of a comforting Father.

Don’t be afraid to expose your need and ask God for comfort.

Then, count on Him to deliver.

Dear Lord, I come into Your presence with my broken heart. Instead of building walls and lashing out, I give my hurts and fears to You and seek Your comfort. As I read the scriptures, let me hear Your words through the ages, as words meant for me in my struggles.

In Jesus’ Name,

Amen.

Video Bible Lesson - Bravery by Ryan Duncan

1/2 Hour of God’s Power with Scott Ralls

06/27/2020

Bravery

by Ryan Duncan

When I am afraid, I will put my trust in You. In God, whose word I praise, In God I have put my trust; I shall not be afraid. What can mere man do to me? – Psalms 56:3-4Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about what it means to be brave. The Bible certainly doesn’t lack for courageous leaders like Moses or fearless warriors like David, but what about those people who showed simple bravery? Esther never led anyone into battle, and as a woman in the ancient world her ability to lead was limited, but when you take the time to study her life you realize how much inner strength she must have had. As a young woman she was taken from her home and thrust into an unfamiliar environment. Later, she was forced to intercede in a murder plot at the risk of her life and the life of her cousin.Her greatest challenge, however, was when the King’s advisor Haman sought to massacre the Jewish people. Their only hope of survival lay with Esther’s ability to confront the King, an action that could easily get her killed. After all, this was a man who had deposed his old wife on a whim, what would he do to a woman who openly challenged his authority? Reading the verses in chapter 4, I can only imagin how shaken Esther must have been.Then Esther told them to reply to Mordecai, "Go, assemble all the Jews who are found in Susa, and fast for me; do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my maidens also will fast in the same way. And thus I will go in to the king, which is not according to the law; and if I perish, I perish." – Esther 4:15-16We all know how the story ends, the King receives Esther and the Jews are saved from death, but the story of Esther’s courage has remained relevant after all these years. I believe God calls Christians to simple acts of bravery every day of our lives. Whether it’s standing up for someone else, or having the courage to speak out for what we believe, these simple acts have the power to change the world. Don’t be afraid, and don’t be downcast, for God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but one of courage.Intersecting Faith and Life: "Courage is not simply one of the virtues but the form of every virtue at the testing point, which means at the point of highest reality." – C.S. Lewis, The Screwtape LettersFurther Reading:2 Timothy 1:7

#Jesus, #Christian, #Bible, #Salvation, #Heaven, #God, #HolySpirit

Strengthened with Might

Streams in the Desert 

The Lord hath sent strength for thee (Ps.68.28, PBV).

The Lord imparts unto us that primary strength of character which makes everything in life work with intensity and decision. We are "strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man." And the strength is continuous; reserves of power come to us which we cannot exhaust.

"As thy days, so shall thy strength be"—strength of will, strength of affection, strength of judgment, strength of ideals and achievement.

"The Lord is my strength" to go on. He gives us power to tread the dead level, to walk the long lane that seems never to have a turning, to go through those long reaches of life which afford no pleasant surprise, and which depress the spirits in the sameness of a terrible drudgery.

"The Lord is my strength" to go up. He is to me the power by which I can climb the Hill Difficulty and not be afraid.

"The Lord is my strength" to go down. It is when we leave the bracing heights, where the wind and the sun have been about us, and when we begin to come down the hill into closer and more sultry spheres, that the heart is apt to grow faint. I heard a man say the other day concerning his growing physical frailty, "It is the coming down that tires me!"

"The Lord is my strength" to sit still. And how difficult is the attainment! Do we not often say to one another, in seasons when we are compelled to be quiet, "If only I could do something!"

When the child is ill, and the mother stands by in comparative impotence, how severe is the test! But to do nothing, just to sit still and wait, requires tremendous strength.

"The Lord is my strength!" "Our sufficiency is of God" (2 Cor. 3:5. from The Silver Lining

Our Caring and Able Father.....Dr. Charles Stanley

Our Caring and Able Father

Dr. Charles Stanley

2 Chronicles 20:1-4

Everyone faces challenges in life. Whether our struggles are financial, vocational, relational, or physical, we can be certain that nobody is exempt. Fortunately, we serve a God who is both interested in our problems and able to take care of them.

When trouble looms, prayer is always a good first step to take. But having a foundation upon which to build our prayers also makes a difference. Jehoshaphat, the King of Judah, faced an enormous challenge. Three different tribes--the Moabites, Amonites, and Meunites--simultaneously waged war against him. Most leaders would have crumbled under such pressure, or at the very least taken drastic measures, but Jehoshaphat was a wise king. Though afraid, he did not strike out against his enemies.Instead, knowing that God was interested in his dilemma, he "turned his attention to seek the Lord" and proclaimed a fast throughout the land (2 Chron. 20:1-3).

Jehoshaphat also knew that God, who was greater than any earthly problem, had done miraculous things for Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, David, and Daniel. That same God would help him, too, in his hour of need. We should never underestimate the Lord's interest in our affairs. He helped our ancestors in the Bible, and He can and will help His children today.

It's easy to think our problems are unimportant in the eyes of God, but He doesn't feel that way at all. Whatever concerns us concerns Him. If we, like Jehoshaphat, turn right to God and proclaim His power, He will intervene. And no matter how great our challenges are, God is greater.

Why We Need Jesus Every Day

Why We Need Jesus Every Day
By Debbie McDaniel

"Then Jesus declared, 'I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.'" John 6:35

Not a day goes by that we're not in need of God's grace and peace. Every morning we need His Spirit to fill us again, to strengthen us for what's ahead. Every day we need a fresh word that He speaks to our hearts, that keeps our focus on what's most important. Trying to run this race of life without Him, will do nothing but drain us dry.

The people of Israel spent 40 years in the desert. Wandering in circles. Times were intense, hot, dry. I'm sure they got weary. But God met them where they were. He made sure they had what they needed. They learned through every hard and grueling step, how much they had to rely on Him.

They were hungry. And God sent manna. Every day a miracle was there, right before their eyes. They just had to pick it up.

“When the dew was gone, thin flakes like frost on the ground appeared on the desert floor. When the Israelites saw it, they said to each other, “What is it?” For they did not know what it was.

Moses said to them, “It is the bread the Lord has given you to eat. This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Everyone is to gather as much as they need. Take an omer for each person you have in your tent.’”

The Israelites did as they were told; some gathered much, some little. And when they measured it by the omer, the one who gathered much did not have too much, and the one who gathered little did not have too little. Everyone had gathered just as much as they needed.Then Moses said to them, “No one is to keep any of it until morning.” Exodus 16:14-19

And just like the people of Israel had to gather it fresh every morning in the wilderness, so it is with us. They couldn't store it up; they had to look for it daily. And God always provided. Each morning it was there, waiting for them. Every day He made sure it met their needs, they were satisfied, they were nourished, they were cared for. And they never lacked, for God's resources never run dry.

That's what He does for us every single morning. Sometimes we miss it, out of busyness or stress. We try to get things going too fast, spinning wildly, trying to get it all done, and sometimes we might start to forget what matters most.

But even for those times, His grace is there. He waits for us. His patience and His peace, it never runs dry.

Each day, His miracles are all around, right before our eyes. We just have to choose to look for them, to pick up His provision, and stay close to His Presence.

God's got our past covered, our future secured, and there's more than enough grace for this day.

"Then Jesus declared, 'I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.'" John 6:35

Jesus is our Bread of Life. He promises that as we come to Him, and pick up with words, spend time first with Him, and allow His truths to nourish our spirits and lives, we will be satisfied.

Peace.

Intersecting Faith & Life: Sometimes life may be hurried and stressed. But choose not to allow the enemy to steer you away from God. It’s those times you need Him most. Make the choice to come to Him daily. Allow Christ to meet your deepest needs and His Spirit to bring refreshing to your soul. He is enough. He is more than enough.

Further Reading:
Matthew 11:28-30
Matthew 5:6
Exodus 16
John 15:5

What Godly Grandparents Should Tell Their Children

What Godly Grandparents Should Tell Their Children
By Rhonda Stoppe

Getting older brings a clarity to what’s important. While we want our grandkids to remember their times on Papa’s farm, we want to leave them with a godly legacy. With this goal in mind, let’s look at what every grandparent should tell their grandchildren.

I'm so glad God made you.

Our grandkids are growing up in a world that does not acknowledge God as their Creator, so it’s vital that parents and grandparents regularly remind them how God carefully designed them in their mother’s womb.

God loves you.

Kids learn best how they are loved when it is demonstrated to them through loving actions. Saying “I love you” without showing love can feel like empty words to a child––or anyone really. In the same way, God, who is the perfect loving Father, displayed the depth of His love by sending his only Son whose sacrifice would pay the price for our sin. Reminding your grandchild of how God lovingly offers new life in Christ to anyone who would turn from their sin to follow Jesus is a great way to help them realize how great the Father's love is for them.

The Bible offers many reminders of God’s display of adoration for us. You would be wise to memorize some of these verses and regularly share them with your grandchild:

“Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us that we should be called children of God.” ( 1 John 3:1)

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” ( John 3:16)

“But God demonstrates His own love for us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” ( Romans 5:8)

In this way you’ll train them not to grow overwhelmed with anxiety, but rather to ask God to use them as a light shining like a star in a crooked and perverse generation ( Daniel 12:3, Philippians 2:15). For in this, your grandchildren will find purpose in life and hope for the future.